The Life and Times of Betty Boop is a lively account of the first female, fully human cartoon character, beginning with her creation by the rebellious and innovative young artists of Fleischer Studios, an upstart animation shop intent on competing with Disney. Author Peter Benjaminson traces BettyтАЩs remarkable evolution (originally a dog character, she only gradually became the chanteuse we know today) and dives into the lawsuit that entertainer Helen Kane brought against the Fleischers for allegedly appropriating her imageтАФonly for it to come to light that Kane had herself lifted her act from various Black performers.
Benjaminson follows Betty through successive historical eras, rebelling against HollywoodтАЩs censorious Hays Code, finding her own path as a self-starting feminist icon, and spawning a merchandising empire that includes everything from watches to wine to Thanksgiving Day floats. Throughout, he shows how, for all her transformations, BettyтАЩs verve and pluck have made her the object of enduring affection.